Shot from 2007-12, this documentary by acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akin looks at the environmental and social impact of a Turkish government project to create a huge landfill for garbage from the entire province of Trabzon in an abandoned copper mine outside the village of Çamburnu, which is on the southern coast of the Black Sea. Despite objections from the mayor and several legal actions, the plan still went forward, with disastrous results: the smell from the dump was noxious, the effect on the traditional fishing trade was devastating, and leakage of wastewater from the site proved significant, especially during periods of heavy rainfall. Working in tandem with Çamburnu’s historian, Akin—whose family traces its roots back to the village—follows the project from its inception, interviewing longtime residents who complain about the impact on farming and business, and young people who now plan to leave for the city. Polluting Paradise also shows provincial administrators arriving in government cars to offer empty assurances that problems will be promptly addressed, and records embarrassed excuses from project engineers who opine that the negative impact has been grossly exaggerated. Unlike many of Akin’s fiction films, this one is stylistically conventional, but its depressing tale of ecological damage caused by misguided governmental policy hardly requires cinematic pizazz to make a strong impression. Extras include an interview with the director. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Polluting Paradise
(2012) 96 min. In German & Turkish w/English subtitles. DVD: $19.99. Strand Releasing (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 4
Polluting Paradise
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